Life looks messy sometimes. Things don’t go as planned, we make the wrong choices, we fail, we try again.

Sometimes trying to cover up and ignore the mess seems like the easiest way out. Everyone else seems to have their lives together, and we fear to admit our weaknesses and mistakes. Yet we all know that the reality is, no one has their life completely figured out and perfectly in line. Life happens and so do clumsy and messy things. Am I the only one who can get caught up in what I should be doing and where I should be at and what my life should look like?

I’ve heard a comment made that went like this: “But I have no excuse to be sad.”

To this, the wise advisor replied, “You’re human. You don’t need an excuse.”

For some reason, that comment stuck with me. Too often I’ve found myself in the rut of believing I need to have a rehearsed reason for everything I’m doing and feeling.

What if we all gave each other just a little more grace? What if we accepted that we don’t need to understand everyone’s intentions right away? What if we left the confining mold and high ideals for humanity behind and let ourselves realize that not one person is the same and that we were not created for molds?

What if we were reminded that instead of being created for a mold, God molded us with His own hands. Each with a specific, individual plan and purpose in mind.

The whole line of events leading up to our rescue story on the day of Jesus’ crucifixion got really messy.

Did Jesus’ followers always approve of the places He went, the things He did, and the people He took time for?

Not in my Bible.

Do you think Jesus’ friends and disciples always understood why He did what He did and why He had to die such a gruesome death?

Call me Thomas but I doubt it.

Did the “know-it-alls” in the society of Jesus’ time actually know it all?

Nope.

Did all this stop God from working His plan for our salvation?

Not a chance.

Through the miraculous story of our salvation, we can take this with us:

God actually specializes in messes. Sometimes the most amazing things happen in places no one ever dreamed.

Why?

Well, do you think God needs our help to figure those things out?

Maybe He doesn’t.

Maybe He just needs us to trust Him, believe in the good of others, and let Him do the rest.

Do you think God waits around for OUR approval on HIS plans?

Call me Thomas, but I doubt it again.

Criticism doesn’t burst His ego.

Negative feedback doesn’t shake His confidence.

He is God. He knows what He’s doing.

And let’s admit it, sometimes we do not. Throughout His whole plan of salvation, it took a major overthrowing of society’s expectations to bring us where we are today.

Traditions were broken.

Expectations weren’t met.

The religious ones were wrong.

Did things always make sense to our people?

Nope.

Does that stop God from working His wonders?

Also nope.

His ways are so much higher than ours, and that’s what makes life beautiful.